1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cabinet assembly with a slidable drawer and a drawer limiting device therefore, more particularly to a drawer limiting device which can ensure controlled removal of the drawer from a cabinet body.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional cabinet is shown to include upper and lower drawers 11 mounted slidably in a cabinet body 10. The cabinet body 10 has upper and lower horizontal bars 12 provided at a front end thereof for limiting extension of the upper and lower drawers 11 from the front end of the cabinet body 10. Each of the drawers 11 has a rear end portion provided with a generally hemi-spherical stop member 14, and is slidable along a respective support rod 13 that is provided in the cabinet body 10 and that extends in a front-to-rear direction transverse to the horizontal bars 12. The stop member 14 projects relative to a bottom side 111 of the drawer 11, and abuts against the corresponding horizontal bar 12 when the drawer 11 is pulled forwardly relative to the cabinet body 10 to an extended position.
When it is desired to remove the drawer 11 from the cabinet body 10, the drawer 11 is first moved to the extended position, and is then tilted to raise its rear end portion so as to enable the stop member 14 to climb over the corresponding horizontal bar 12, thereby permitting removal of the drawer 11 from the cabinet body 10. However, the tilting operation for removing the drawer 11 is difficult to conduct, especially when heavy objects are received in the drawer 11. In this case, the horizontal bar 12 and the stop member 14 are likely to be deformed or even damaged.
Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide a cabinet assembly with a slidable drawer and a drawer limiting device which can ensure controlled removal of the drawer from a cabinet body.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a cabinet assembly includes a cabinet body, a drawer, and a drawer limiting device. The cabinet body has an open front end, a rear end, a horizontal support rod extending between the front and rear ends, and a horizontal bar disposed adjacent to the front end and extending transverse to the support rod. The drawer is mounted slidably in the cabinet body, and is slidable forwardly and rearwardly along the support rod so as to be movable between an extended position, in which the drawer is extended from the front end of the cabinet body, and a retracted position, in which the drawer is retracted into the cabinet body. The horizontal bar on the cabinet body is disposed below the drawer. The drawer has a lower end and a rear end portion. The drawer limiting device is mounted on the rear end portion of the drawer, and includes a mounting plate fastened to the drawer, and a resilient limiting member which has a head portion secured to the mounting plate and a tail portion extending rearwardly from the head portion. The tail portion of the limiting member has an abutment section adjacent to the head portion and projecting downwardly relative to the lower end of the drawer. The abutment section abuts against the horizontal bar to limit forward extension of the drawer relative to the cabinet body when the drawer is moved to the extended position. The tail portion of the limiting member is deformable and is pushed upwardly by the horizontal bar by virtue of resiliency of the limiting member when the drawer is further applied with a forward pulling force at the extended position such that the limiting member ceases to limit forward extension of the drawer, thereby permitting removal of the drawer from the cabinet body.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, a drawer limiting device is adapted for use in a cabinet assembly which includes a cabinet body with an open front end provided with a horizontal bar and a drawer mounted slidably in the cabinet body and disposed above the horizontal bar. The drawer is slidable in forward and rearward directions transverse to the horizontal bar for moving between an extended position, in which the drawer is extended from the front end of the cabinet body, and a retracted position, in which the drawer is retracted into the cabinet body. The drawer limiting device includes a mounting plate and a resilient limiting member. The mounting plate is adapted to be fastened to the drawer. The limiting member has a head portion secured to the mounting plate, and a tail portion extending rearwardly from the head portion. The tail portion of the limiting member has an abutment section adjacent to the head portion and adapted to project downwardly relative to a lower end of the drawer. The abutment section is adapted to abut against the horizontal bar so as to limit forward extension of the drawer relative to the cabinet body. The tail portion of the limiting member is deformable, and is adapted to be pushed upwardly by the horizontal bar by virtue of resiliency of the limiting member when the drawer is further applied with a pulling force at the extended position in the forward direction such that the limiting member ceases to limit forward extension of the drawer, thereby permitting removal of the drawer from the cabinet body.